City of Basketball Love

Anthony Dabbundo (@AnthonyDabbundo)
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Throughout league play and district playoffs, Spring-Ford has developed a knack for winning close games.

Having been sent to extra time in three of their previous five games, the Rams weren’t phased when they found themselves trailing 50-45 with just 30 seconds remaining in overtime on the road against Central Bucks West.

After clinching the PAC-10 Championship in overtime over Perkiomen Valley, clinching a state bid in extra time at Pennridge, and coming from five points down to beat CB East Tuesday night in overtime, Spring-Ford had plenty of experience in this precise situation.

Needing points quickly, Rams’ senior wing Nigel Cooke knocked down a three, which was followed by a Charles Drummond mid-range jumper with just five ticks remaining that leveled the game back at 50, forcing a second overtime.

“We have been practicing overtime,” Spring-Ford head coach Chris Talley said. “This is a resilient group, they never think about quitting.”

“That’s what I love about them,” he continued.

And after mounting the last minute comeback, the Rams locked down the Bucks at the defensive end in double overtime, holding CB West without points for over three minutes, and sinking six late free throws to seal off a thrilling 58-56 win over a Bucks team that had beaten them by double digits back in December.

With the win, Spring-Ford will be the five seed in the district entering states, leaving CB West as the six seed.

Finding themselves down 14-6 after the opening quarter, shooting only 3-of-13 from the field, the Rams fought to battle back and retake the lead as junior guard Ryan Fitzpatrick sparked the offense to life with two threes midway through the second quarter.

The long ball eventually helped Spring-Ford retake the lead into the break. After starting 0-for-6 from beyond the arc in the first quarter, the Rams made 4-of-7 three point attempts in the second period, the final coming with just five ticks left before the half, when leading scorer Matt Gnias gave his team a 23-20 lead.

But the Bucks came flying out of the break, opening the second half on a 15-to-5 run on the back of their two senior guards Luke Irons and Billy Power. Playing without their best player, Lafayette commit Cal Reichwein, who has been out with a knee injury, the two guards both scored in double figures, combining for 24 points.

The fourth quarter was back and forth, with both teams finding success both inside and out; Drummond scored eight of the biggest points of his career, keeping his team in the game late on.

Drummond, a junior, started 0-for-4 from the field, and was held scoreless for three quarters, but was the difference-maker on the floor in the game’s final minutes.

“I just kept on shooting, really,” Drummond said. “I didn’t want to have my head down and let my teammates down and eventually the shots fell.”

Trailing by four after the third quarter, it was a Drummond three that gave the Rams the lead again early in the fourth. With just 4:15 left, it was the Rams junior again, giving Spring-Ford the lead once more at 45-43.

And again trailing by two with just seconds left, the Rams turned to their junior sharpshooter, who nailed a free throw line jump shot to level the score and force a second overtime with five ticks left on the clock, stunning the packed CB West gymnasium.

“We’re undefeated in overtime, coach told us that before overtime started, and we have confidence in ourselves in big moments,” Drummond said.

“He just has no fear, that’s his best characteristic,” Talley continued. “He doesn't feel pressure and we have full confidence in him and tonight he came through big time.”

For CB West, it’s a tough home loss that they allowed to slip away despite multiple chances to put it away, but Power and this senior-laden team aren’t going down without a fight.

“A couple of turnovers, we just tried to do too much and we made some mistakes down the stretch,” Power said.

“After we lost to Plymouth Whitemarsh we were angry and came out and beat Conestoga so hopefully we can use this loss to our advantage like we did last time,” the Bucks senior guard continued.

They’ll have a tough challenge against either Reading or Central York in the opening round of states, but the Bucks are hoping to get Cal Reichwein back from injury. While his younger brother Jake has done an excellent job in his place, finishing with 10 points, the Bucks will need to be at full strength to pull off the upset next Saturday.

As for Spring-Ford, who has needed overtime in four of their last five wins, the Rams will take on Spring Grove, the third place team from District 3, next Saturday in the opening round of the PIAA tournament.